


Worth the Wait

by Soulmateshinki



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Compliant, Day 5, Family, M/M, SNS Summer Week 2017, sns summer week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 13:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11276295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soulmateshinki/pseuds/Soulmateshinki
Summary: Author: milkshake-fairy.tumblr.comSNS Summer Week Day 5 : Family"The door swings open and Naruto catches himself, trying not to fall forward. As soon as he straightens up, everything stops. He is—essentially—looking up at himself, or a version of himself, an older, more mature version."





	Worth the Wait

Naruto charges toward the opposing ninja at full speed, having just watched the man blast Sasuke some 30 feet away into a tree. Their opponent had stolen a forbidden scroll and was now cornered by team 7 in the forest just outside of Konoha.

The man blocks and dodges as Naruto attacks him repeatedly, his skills an obvious result of his high level of mastery as a ninja. Both Kakashi and Sakura are yelling at Naruto to be more cautious, but the warnings fall dead to his ears as he jumps to attack again and again. Suddenly, as Naruto is about to charge from behind, the ninja turns around in the last second, catching the young genin off guard and hitting him dead on with some from of jutsu. Sakura’s cry is the last thing he hears before everything fades to black around Naruto.

When he opens his eyes he’s in Konoha again, sitting on the sidewalk, leaning against a fence.

_What the hell?_

Mind racing, Naruto jumps up, looking around for his team and the enemy ninja. The last thing he remembers is being hit by a powerful jutsu, Sakura calling out his name in fear. Had he been blasted all the way back to Konoha? He has no injuries whatsoever though, no physical sign that he had been hit at such close range.

Heart pounding in his chest, Naruto bolts through the streets, towards the forest where he had been perviously fighting. As he races down the familiar roads, everything mostly a blur around him, a part of his mind registers a discontinuity, or rather several incoherences in his surrounding that shouldn’t be there. He slows his pace, most of his brain screaming at him to find his teammates but the subconscious nagging in his mind hindering him.

This was definitely Konoha, but something, several things actually, were _off_. A few shops missing, some new buildings here and there, roads that seemed renovated, houses he had never seen before, and it left completely Naruto bewildered.

 _How_ had he missed these changes? Had he really been that caught up in his training that he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings to this extent? How was he noticing the changes now though?

At this point Naruto had slowed down to a quick walk, mind racing as he looked around and took in his hometown, so familiar yet so new now.

He almost trips over himself when he spots the hokage several feet away from him, his hat covering most of his face, head lowered as he reads the documents in his hand. The Hokage turns, walking through the gates of his house, and Naruto races after him.

He knows. He knows the moment he saw the Hokage that the man wasn’t Sarutobi. Though he’s wearing the hokage attire, he’s much taller, with an athletic build, broad shoulders, long legs, and unwrinkled skin. Naruto knows he isn’t Sarutobi, but it makes no sense.

Running through the gates of the hokage’s house, Naruto slams against the door, preventing it from closing shut.

“Hokage oji-san!” 

The door swings open and Naruto catches himself, trying not to fall forward. As soon as he straightens up, everything stops. He is–essentially–looking up at himself, or a _version_ of himself, an older, more mature version. The older him blinks down at Naruto slowly then brings both his hands to his own eyes and rubs them roughly.

“ _Damn it._ He was right. I _am_ overworking myself. I’m losing my damn mind now.”

Naruto still can’t find his voice so he watches as his older self finally stops rubbing his own eyes to look down at him again.

He stares at Naruto for a while, confirming that the boy in front of him isn’t a figment of his imagination, before taking a deep breath.

“So, what’s going on? Who are you, and what do you want?”

Technically, someone could’ve easily taken on Naruto’s younger form, but the look on the Hokage’s face shows that he can sense that this isn’t an imposter, that the boy standing in front of him is indeed, somehow, his own genin self.

“I…b-became the hokage…” Naruto’s mind is still whirling, the image of himself adorning the hokage attire all but bringing him to his knees. This could all be an illusion, an elaborate dream conjured by the jutsu he had been hit with, but he can’t help but feel that there’s some truth to this reality.

His older self’s expression soften, and he moves away from the doorway, gesturing for Naruto to come inside.

He follows the Hokage into the house, finally snapping out of daze as he takes in his surrounding.

 _The house belongs to a family_.

His heart squeezes almost painfully as he takes in the details of his spacious abode. There are different sizes of shoes lining the wall next to the door, as well as various types of coats hanging from the coatrack, a small pink one beside a slightly larger green one. Older Naruto hangs up his hat and robe beside a black cloak.

“Back already?” The hokage mutters under his breath as he looks at the cloak before walking deeper into the house.

Naruto hears him moving around the house, opening and shutting a few doors, before coming back to the doorway.

“Must’ve gone out.”

“Who?”

Older Naruto pauses, looking as if he’s contemplating something, before shaking his head and motioning for Naruto to follow him. Naruto’s eyes catches the golden ring on the hokage’s finger. 

He leads Naruto to the living room and gestures for him to sit down on one of the plush couches before he walks off into the kitchen.

Naruto’s gaze wonders around the room, taking in the warm and homely atmosphere. There are artwork obviously made my young children hanging on the walls, a few stuffed animals lying on the couch and on the floor, a plethora of children’s books lined on a shelf.

_He has children. He has a family._

His heart is thundering in his chest as a waves of emotions crash though him, leaving him breathless and almost fatigued with an unprecedented sense of relief.

Trying to steady himself, Naruto takes a few deep breathes, eyes falling on a note lying on the corner of the table in front of the couch.

“ _Went out for grocery. We’re out of tomatoes. I’m making dinner tonight._ ”

The handwriting on the note seems oddly familiar, but the Hokage walks back into the room before Naruto has a chance to contemplate it further.

He’s holding a cold jug of lemonade and two glasses, which he places on the table before pouring the liquid into on of the glasses and handing it to Naruto.

“Thank you.”

Nodding, the Hokage pours himself a glass of lemonade as well before settling comfortably on the couch across from Naruto.

“Ok, so tell me what’s going on.”

Naruto recollects all that he can remember up until he came face to face with his older self as the Hokage drink his lemonade and nods along.

“It had to be the jutsu that that bastard hit me with,” Naruto finishes. “He somehow teleported me into the future.”

Older Naruto nods slowly. “But what I don’t understand is how I have no recollection of this. I remember the battle you’re talking about, but I don’t remember this happening.” He sets his glass down, running a hand though his hair and frowning. “If you’re me, a past me, then I should be able to remember everything that’s happened to you.”

Naruto huffs and leans back on the couch, confused as well before his eyes stray to his surrounding again.

“Um...I have a family now?” His own voice sounds small and slightly unsteady to his own ears.

Looking up from his concentration, older Naruto smiles softly at him.

“Yes. Yes you do, and they’re amazing.”

Naruto clears throat and sits up.

“Tell me about them, please. Can I see them? My wife? Do my kids look like me? Is my wife pretty?”

“Whoa, calm down!” The Hokage laughs and gets up from the couch to walk to one of the other rooms, retrieving a picture frame before sitting down again and handing it to Naruto. 

“We don’t keep picture frames, or anything with glass really, in the living room anymore since they don’t last more than a week with the kids running around,” he explains. “They’re both in school right now.” 

Naruto looks down at the picture in his hands, heart skipping a few beats. There are two young children in the photo, one girl and an older boy. The boy is the spitting image of himself, messy golden hair, lightly tanned skin, clear blue eyes, with a small smile. His younger sister has long dark hair and dark eyes, very fair skin, sharp features, and a bright grin.

“My son looks just like me.”

Older Naruto chuckles, nodding his head in agreement. “Naosuke. He does, but he acts just like Sas–ah–um....he’s,” he splutters and looks flustered for a second before he clears his throat to continue. “He looks like us but he doesn’t have our personality or temperament.”

“He’s more like his mom?”

The Hokage looks as if he’s trying not to laugh. “Yes, you could say that. Sana, though, is my mini me. She’s also the reason most things break in this house ”

“Naosuke and Sana,” Naruto says softly, heart clenching. He looks up again, “And what about my wife?”

His older self looks conflicted as he scratches his head. “Don’t you want it to be a surprise?”

“I want to know! Is it Sakura-chan!?”

The hokage bursts out laughing, leaning forward to brace himself on his knees, and Naruto frowns.

“What?”

“I think,” his future self gasps, in between his roaring laughter, “that you really should wait and find out for yourself.”

“But I want to know it’s her when I meet her”

“Who says you havn’t met that person already?”

Naruto gaps at him and then groans. “ _Please_ tell me.”

“I’ll tell you that that person loves you, extremely. They helped you grow, pushed you, broke you and built you. They became your one real partner in more than just marriage. You could say that you two are soulmates.” 

Bowing his head down, Naruto feels his cheeks burning. _Soulmates?_ He shakes his head, fighting to control his blush.

“And what about Sasuke?” 

The hokage looks surprised for a moment.

“Did I beat him? Do we–uh–ever become friends?” 

Another smile spreads across his older self’s face, his eyes lighting up again with suppressed laughter. “Another thing that you’ll have to wait to find to out.”

He reaches out and places a hand gently on Naruto’s head.

“It’s worth it. It’s a long journey, and it’s rough. _Really rough_. It’ll beat you up and break you down, but you can do it. I’m living proof that you can do it. And in the end, it’ll all be worth it. I promise.”

He ruffles Naruto’s hair and grins, “Your family will be waiting for you.”

The doorbell rings suddenly, and the Hokage stands up.

“Wonder who that is?” He glances at the clock on the wall before walking towards the doorway.

Naruto stands to follow him, but as soon as he gets on his feet, an intense wave of nausea rolls though him. Before he can catch himself, everything melts around him and fades to darkness once again.

“Naruto!” Sakura’s shrill cry pierces though the dark haze in his mind, and he blinks his eyes open, sitting up slowly.

He’s back in the forest near Konoha, Sakura and Sasuke running toward him, Kakashi sensei a few paces behind them.

Sakura drops beside him, pulling him into a hug. “You’re alive! What happened to you!? Sasuke-kun couldn’t sense your chakra.”

Naruto looks up at Sasuke, who’s standing beside his legs, breathing heard, face contorted in anger, or was it fear? _Pain_? He glares down at Naruto, so intensely that Naruto has to look away.

“Dobe,” he spits out, but theres a slight tremor that breaks the harshness of his voice.  

“We couldn’t sense you at all.” Kakashi sensei comes up to stand beside Sasuke. “We’ve been looking around for you after we caught the rogue ninja, but it was like you disappeared from this world. There wasn’t a single trace of your chakra.” 

Sasuke ducks his head and shoves his hands in to his pockets. “What the hell happened to you?”

Naruto opens his mouth to reply, but suddenly his recent memories are seeping out of him, fading quickly and leaving him blank. He rubs his face with both hands, trying to focus.

_What had happened to him? He went somewhere, met someone important. But who? What happened?_

“I–I don’t know,” Naruto finally replies, both hands scratching his head. 

“It’s alright, Naruto.” Sakura helps him up to his feet, letting him lean on her for support.

He suddenly feels so weak he can barely stand by himself. Sasuke walks to his other side and takes half his weight, slinging Naruto’s arm over his shoulder as they head back toward Konoha.

Naruto turns slightly to look at Sasuke, his dark eyes and dark hair, his fair skin and sharp features. Somehow they all seem strangely familiar. Naruto shakes his head. W _here had he seen those traits before_?

“Whatever you’re thinking about, usuratonkachi, stop it. I can sense your small brain melting under the pressure.” 

“Shut up, bastard!” 

***************************************************************************************

Naruto leaves his younger self in the living room and goes to open the door, finding his husband standing on the other side, two large grocery bags in each hand.

“Hey.” He smiles and takes one of the bags as Sasuke walks inside.  

“How many tomatoes did you buy?” He peers in to the bag in his hand, which is almost entirely filled with the red fruit.

“There’s alot of things you can make with tomatoes,” Sasuke defends himself as he walks toward the kitchen, passing through the living room and spotting a jug of lemonade along two cups on the coffee table. 

“Did we have someone over,” he asks as Naruto follows him into the kitchen.

“Huh?” the blond looks like he wants to say something but then seems confused, brows furrowing as he rubs his chin. “No—well—I don’t think so?”

Sasuke sighs and places the back of his hand against his husband’s forehead, checking for his temperature.

“So you were having lemonade with a ghost?”

Naruto looks even more confused, rubbing his temples. “I seriously don’t remember.”

“See, _this_ is why I tell you to stop missing sleep and overworking yourself.” He reaches over to smooth out Naruto’s brows and run his hand though the golden hair.

“Stop thinking so hard, usuratonkachi. That tiny brain of your's may start melting.”

“Shut up, bastard!”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated :D
> 
> *Also, in the future, the shinobi have perfected this method of how two men can have a child with both their DNA, using a surrogate mother: http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/two-father-babies-could-soon-be-possible-no-egg-donor-required/


End file.
